Manifold and valve structure



jan. 26, 1937. B. PRATT Er AL 2,069,017

MANIFOLD AND VALVE STRUCTURE Filed NOV. 14. 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .j :l lili Imam/ibm Jan. 26, 1937. B. PRATT Er AL MANIFOLD AND vALvE STRUCTURE 'med Nov. 14, 1954 4 sheets-sheet? B. PRATT El' AL MANIFQLD AND VALVE STRUCTURE Filed NOV. 14, 1934 Egg Jan. 26, 1937,

Jan. 26, 1937. B. PRATT ET AL MANIFOLD AND VALVE STRUCTURE v Filed Nov. 14, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 @may ' Patented Jaaze, 1931 and valves 'impracticable and, inthe closed type UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE MANIFOLD AND 'VALVE STRUCTURE Best Pratt George F. Weinreich, Chicago, Ill.,

assignors to Brake Equipment & Supply Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporationof Illinois Application November 14, 1934, Serial No. 753,057

' Y 9 claims. (ci. 277-59) The present yinvention relates to a manifold' and valve structure particularly use on gas ranges.

An important object of the invention is to provide a manifold and valve structure which is extremely ecient in controlling the flow of gas to the range burnersl and which will also permit the valves and the Venturi tubes connected thereto to be readily accessible for adjustment.

Older types of ranges have been provided with a manifold in the form of a pipe extending lengthwise of the front of the range, the valve regulating each burner being spaced along this manifold.

The advent of ranges of the closed type has made the use of previous forms of manifolds designed for range, it has heretofore been usual to provide a manifold extending from front to rear of the burner box of the range, the valves being positioned along the manifold at various points within the burner box, each valve being controlled by a shaft or operating connection extending from an operating handle at the front of the stove. By the construction of the present invention, the valves are positioned at the front of the stove'in a compact group, with a Venturi tube extending from each valve, and the necessity of operating connections extending through the burner box is eliminated.

In the closed type of gas ranges now manufactured, particularly the type in which the individual valves are located withinv the-burner box adjacent the burners controlled thereby, it is difficult to reach the burners and the valves to make adjustments thereto -whereby the flow of gas or air may' be regulated. By the construction of the present invention, all of the elements there- Aof,`whi1e normally covered, are readily accessi- Figure 2 is a top view of the control plate and l the burner connections leading from the rear thereof;

Figure 3 is an end view of the manifold of on the line 6 6 of Figure v4;-

our invention, the view showing-the control platel 'in transverse vertical section;

Figure 4 is a front view ofthe manifold of the present invention, a portion of -a plate used with the manifold being broken away;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 4, a portion of the view being in longitudinal horizontal section;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view ltaken Figure 7 is a vertical sectional `view taken onl the line 'l-I of Figure 4;

Figure is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 1;

Figure 9 is a detail sectional view showing a 15 valve in full open position;

@Figure 10 is a detail-view showing the inner face of the valve disc used with the manifold to control the top burners of a. range;

v Figure 11 is a Adetail view showing the inner 20 face of the valve disc used with the manifold to control the oven burner, and

Figures 12 to 15 diagrammatically illustratevarious' positions of the oven control valve disc with respect to the supply and outlet ports which 25l it controls.

ignates the front wall of a gas range, which wall is provided with an aperture I6. A manifold I1 is positioned within the aperture i6 'as shown 3o in Figure 3, the manifold being secured tothe range frame by bolts passing through brackets i8 carried by the man ifold. The aperture I6 is adapted to be closed by a control or cover plate I9 held in place by at springs 20 engaging the 35 inner edges of the aperture, permitting the cover plate to be readily removed. Valve handles or knobs 2|, each operatively connected to the stem of a valve included in the manifold structure and adapted to control one of the range burners, ex- 40 tend through the cover plate i9. 4Venturi tubes 22 extend rearwardly from the manifold l 'I to the top burners of the range, the ends of the Venturi tubes adjacent the manifold being spaced from the latter and so positioned with respect 45 thereto as to be in alignment with the gas supply nozzles extending from the manifold.

As is best shown in Figures 3 and 8, a platev 23 is positioned between the manifold I1 and the front or cover plate i9, plate 23 being secured 50 to the manifold by means of machine screws threaded in projections 24l extending from the front wall 25 of the manifold.

The manifold I1 is substantially box-like in shape and includesl a central chamber 26 to which 55 ,2 v 'aoeacrv gas `iiows through a supply pipe 21 (Figure 4). Ports'2 are provided inthe end walls and bottom wall of the manifold and the supply pipe may be connectedl to either of these, the other '5 ports 28 then being closed-by plugs such as 29.-

, In the present embodiment of the invention, the manifold i1 is provided with five disc valves, four ofthese valves controlling the top burners ofthel stove and being designated by thehumeral '30, the fifth valve, designated by the numeral 3|, being provided for the purpose of controlling the ow of gas to the oven burner. As is best shown in Figures 4 and 5, the'valve discs are positioned upon the front face 25 of the manifold l1, one'of thev four valves 30 being positioned adjacent each vcorner of the manifold and the oven control valve 3| being positioned centrally of the front face of the manifold. The valve discs 30 `are keyed to rotatable valve stems-or shafts 32 which turn in sockets 33 drilled in the front face of the manifold I1 centrally of valve seats 34. As shown in Figure 7, the ovenv control valve' 3| .is keyed to a stem or shaft 35 which rotates fin a bore 36 extending through a solid portion 'L25 31 which bridges the front and rear walls ofthe shown in'Figure 8, extending to the central chamber 26 of the manifold. Gas may therefore flow outwardly through thisport and to the valve -disc.l An outlet port or passage 42, preferably to the right'of and below supply port 40, extends 40 from the seat 34 to a chamber 43 formed in the -side wall and in a lateral extension 44 of the trally of the manifold, the seat 38 of this .valve manifold I1. The extension 44 has a nipple 45 V threaded in its inner face (Figure 5), which nipf ple is provided with a tapered port 46. A needle '45 verve 41 1s threaded m the outer fece la er the extension, the tapered end of the needle valve being-adapted to adjustably control the port 4 6 and thereby control the flow of gas moving from that port. The nipple 45 is intended to project into theinlet of a venturi 22, as shown in Figure 3, and the air adjustment plate 49 provided upon the Venturi tube nts upon the nipple to center and support the Venturi tube with respect thereto. 'Y

'55 The valve seat at the lower right hand corner (Figure 4) of the manifold is provided with ports and passages identical with that described above and an extension 44 and needle valve 41 are also provided for this valve seat. The two valve seats 0014 adjacent theres. hand edge or the manifold differ from those just described only in that their outlet ports 4| are at the left-of the valve 'seat so that they may be conveniently connected by a passage 43 to the adjacent extension 44.

465 As best shown in Figure ll, each of the four When the valve discs 30 at theright hand edge of the manifold are in closed position, as illustrated by the valve in the lower right hand comer of Figure 4, the larger portion 51 of the groove 56 willbe opposite or in alignment with the gas 5 supply port 40 and the gas outletport 42 will be closed by the seat or inner face of the-valve disc. When gas'is to iiow to the burner, the valve disc will be .turned in a clockwise direction to move the portion B1 of the groove 56 into alignment with l0 the 'gas outlet passage 42, permitting full flow of gas from supply passage 40, through groove 5 6. passage'42 and thence tothe burner. Continued turning movement of the valve disc will move the tapered portion 58 of the groove 53 opposite the l5 outlet port 42, reducing the flow of gas to this port, the degree of reduction being regulated by the relativeposition of the tapered portion il with respect to the supply passagelli'. The arrangement described above, whereby a full flow of 20 gas is'initially supplied each burner, is highly de sirable in ranges'provided with a pilot light, since the full now of gas insures that the burner will be immediately lighted by the pilot light, Obviously, once the burner has been lighted, the ilow `2li of gas can be regulated by further rotation of the valve to obtain the desired flame at the burner. As is also shown in Figure 4, the two valve discs 30 at the left-fhand edge of Figure 4 have the larger portions 51er their grooves ss oppositeV the so outlet passages 4| when theI valve discs are in, closed position, the supply passages 40 of these two valves then being closed by the face of each valve disc. Rotation of either valve discl in'a clockwise direction will rst cause the passagesg 4| and 40 to be bridged by the larger portion 51 of the valve disc to permit full ilowand further` .turning movement willl bring the .tapered groove 58 opposite outlet port` or passage 4| regulating the ow of gas to the' desired degree. 4o

Referring to the oven control valve located cenis best shown in Figures 12 to 15, and, as there shown, has asupply port or passage iiopening thereto from the central chamber 26 of the mani- 45 fold I1 as also shown in Figures 4 and '1. A rela#- tively small pilot burner passage 3| opens from the valve seat to apassage 42 extending through the solid portion 31 ofthe manifold tothe rear A face of the manifold, a pipe 63 extendingA fromx 5o the latter passage to the pilot burner of the oven.

A groove 84 extends from the outlet port 6| toward the supply port 60 and a groove 45 extends from the' supply port toward the pilot burner outlet `groove 64, both grooves being "arcuate, sl'iort.f55V

and of relatively small cross section. The face of the valve seat 38 is also provided with'. an arcuate groove B5 of larger cross section and extending over approximately 180 of the seat face. The groove 33 opens to a port or passage 31 extending' 30 through the solid portion `31 of the manifold to y the rear face of the latter. A pipe 88 is tted in the outer end of the port 61 and extends to the main burner of the oven or, if a thermostatic control valve is used in connection with the pres-- 65 ent manual ovencontrol valve, the pipe 88 extends to the thermostatic valve.

As shown in Figure l0,` the valve disc 3| which cooperates with the seat 38 to control the ow of gas to the oven is provided withan arcuate groove lo of substantially the same cross section as the Ylalfse groove 64 in the face 34, but somewhat longer than the latter groove, as indicated in Figure12. Also,thedisc3lhasinitsinnerfacean arcuate groove" of substantially the same cross grammatically shown in Figures 12 to 15, wherein the larger valve seat groove 66 is indicated as of slightly less width than the disc groove 10, this y being done to make clearer the relative positions of the grooves. When the disc 3| is rotated in a clockwise direction, from the closed position shown in Figure 4 to a position substantially approximating that shown in Figure 12, the shorter groove 1| will first connect the supply port 60 and the outlet groove 66, the movement of the disc simultaneously causing the larger disc groove 10 to open to the seat groove 65 communicating with the supply portv 60. In this position, gas Will ow to lboth the oven burner, through the port 61 and pipe 66, andv also to the oven pilot burner, through the port 6|, passage 62 and pipe 63. The flow of gas will, rof course, be reduced it the respective grooves of the valve disc and seat face do not communicate as fully as is illustrated in Figure 12.

Further rotation of-the disc 3| in a clockwise direction tothe position indicated in Figure 13, wherein the disc has turned approximately 225 from closed position, will cause the blank portion y of the face of the disc between the trailing end 10a of disc groove 10 and the forward end 1|a of smaller disc groove 1| to move across the seat face groove 6| which communicates with the pilot burner pipe. However, since this blank portion of the valve disc is of less length than the length of the pilot burner groove 6|, gas will continue to flow to the pilot burner, both to the left (Figure 13) through the larger disc groove 10 and also to'the right through larger disc groove 1 0, seat face groove 66 and smaller disc groove 1|. It will be appreciated that in any position of the valve disc intermediate the positions shown in Figures 12 and 13, gas will flow to both outlets 6| and 61 due to the fact that the larger valve disc groove 11| will, in such intermediate positions, always be open, to both the pilot burner seat groove 64 and main oven burner seat groove 66.

Slightly further movement of the disc 3| will vposition the grooves thereof as shown in Figure 14 so that gas will flow from the supply port 60 to the main burner outlet port 61 through the larger disc groove 10 and will'also flow to the pilot burner outlet port 6| from the larger seat face groove 66 and through disc groove 1|. The

liow of gas to both outlets will continue in this manner until the disc is turned to bring advance end'1la. of the smaller disc groove 1| opposite ,the left hand end of supply groove 65, which relation will exist when vthe disc reaches a position I immediately inadvance of the position shown rotated to a position beyond that shown in Figure 15 to finally move the larger disc groove 10 out of communication with supply port 60 so that no gas will flow to the main oven burner, the valve disc 3| being rotatable through substantially 360. A person operating the valve is thereby enabled to shut down the over` burner independently of thermostatic action and use a small dame at the main burner orto entirely shut oi flow to the main burner While the pilot burner is still lighted.

Ifthe manual control valve described above is to be used with a thermostaticl valve, its shaft 35 may be connected to a rod 15 coupled to the thersuch as that indicated by the numeral 15a.

If the manual valve 3| is used with a thermostatic valve, the manual valve will not finally control the volume of flow of gas to the oven burner but will merely supply gas to the thermostatic valve through the pipe 68. The shaft 35 of the manual valve, being connected to the operating shaft or means of the thermostatic valve by the connector 15, will insure that the opening of the thermostatic valve will be regulated to the desired degree in accordance with the degree of rotation given the shaft 35 of the manual valve. As is usual, the shaft 35 may carry a dial, not shown, bearing temperature indications, and ro- -mostatic control valve, not shown, by a coupling,

tation of the shaft 35 and dial to the desired degree will actuate the thermostatic valve to the proper stage to permit a volume of flow to the oven burner which will insure a iiame at the oven to maintain the temperature for which the dial and shaft areset.

Should our manual valve not be used with a thermostatic control valve, the passage 62 leading from the pilot burner port 6| may be sealed. When the manual valve is used in connection with a thermostatic valve, the pipe 63 in passage 62 will lead directly to the pilot burner so that this burner will be controlled entirely by the manual valve and will not be aiiected by the thermostatic valve. By this arrangement, the complete closing off of gas flow through the pipe 68 by the thermostatic valve will not affect the flow to the pilot valve and a ame will be continually burning at the pilot burner during the entire time that the manual valve is in open position. Hence, if the thermostatic valve should temporarily extinguish the flame at the main oven burner or if it should cut down the flow of gas to such an extent that combustion would not be supported at this burner, the'fmain burner will again be ignited by the pilot burner 'when the thermostatic. valve reopens.

As has been stated above, the oven control valve 3| may be turned through approximately 360 and this will give a Wide range of adjust- Vment for the opening of the thermostatic valve, if the manual valve is us'ed with such a valve. If no thermostatic valve is connected to our manual valve, the degreeof rotation of the manual valve may be substantially reduced. In the latter case, the flow of gas to the oven burner would be finally controlled by the manual valve and could be adjusted through the usual degree because of the fact that the various ports and grooves provided in the valve seat and valve disc,

respectively, have rounded ends andthe degree ofl alignment of the rounded end of a groov'e or passage in the valve disc with a passage in the valve seat will finely adjust the volume of gas flow.

The valve stems or shafts 32 and 35 are iiattened at their ends, as shawn in Figures '7 and 8, and are adapted to be turned by the handles or knobs 2|, each knob being provided with a socket of a shape to t the outer end of the valve stem which it engages. 'Ihe knobs 2| are iitted in openings 8| providedin the front or control plate I9, the` openings 8| being in axial alignment with the respective valve stems 'ori shafts Each knob is provided ywith a shoulder 82 intermediatel its length andl an annular groove 83 adjacent its inthe plate I9 and spaced about the opening 3|. By the above arrangement, the control plate and the knobs carriedthereby may be removed from f and replaced upon the stove, particularly if the vchanged, during removal.

position of the valve stems and the knobs is un- The means to limit the rotation of the valve discs 30 which control the top burners to hold these discs in contact with their respective seats is best shown in Figure 8. Each valve stem or shaft -32 is encircled by a coil springr 88, the inner end of the coil spring bearing in asocket in the outer surface of the valve disc 30 and the outer end bearing upon a stop plate 89 having a forced t upon the stem 32 and bearing upon a shoulder- 32a formed by an enlargement of the stem. The stop plate 89 is, as shown at the lower right-hand corner of Figure 4, substantially rectangular in shape and may be provided at opposite edges,

thereof with stiiening anges 98.

Protuberances or lugs 9| are provided upon the front face of each stop plate. 89, which p rotuberances may be seated in apertures or sockets 92 in the plate 23 when the valve is in full open 'or inr closed position. Obviously, the apertures or sockets 92 may be arranged to have the protuberances engage the same in any other position of the valve. 'The relative arrangement of thee protuberances -9I and apertures 92 is best shown by the two valvesA at the left of Figure 4, Figure 8 shows the valves in closed position and with the protuberances and apertures in alignment. When the valves are turned in a clockwise: direc'- tion to the relatively slight extent necessary to permit full flow to theburners, the protuberances i 9| may seat in another set of apertures 92. Ii the flowof gas is to be reduced, the valves may be turned 'further in a clockwise direction so that the ow will be through the tapered portion 58 ofv groove 56 as heretofore described.

In order to limit the opening movement oi the top burner valves 30, a tang 95fis provided upon an extension of. each stop plate 99, which tang extends forwardly and intoan arcuate slot 96 in the plate 23 as illustrated vin the lower left hand corner of Figure 4 and in Figure 8.

When the valve is in closed position, the tang 95 will ordinarily be in contact with the lower end of the slot 9B and when the valve has been turned to a position where the tapered portion 58 of its groove 56 bears such a relation to the ports 48 and 4| as to permit the lowest practicable stage of flame at the gas burner, the tang 95 will contact with the adjacent edge of a stop plate 91 fixed to the plate 23. The stop plate 91 tion.

In order to limit the opening movement of the oven control valve 3 I an extension IOI (Figure '7) `isprovided upon a stop plate 89 having a forced fit upon the stem 35. The extension I 0I is adapted tocontact with a shoulder or'ear |02 struck inwardly from'theplate 22V when the valve is in closed position. Since the oven control valve has a xed range of turning movement, lt is not necessary to provide an adjustable stop element for this valve. f

Figure 9'shows a.l modied form of lock ele-` ment; In this view, the plate 89a carries one or. more pins 9Ia which project into apertures 92a in the plate 23. when the valve is in closed position. By this arrangement, the valve cannot be accidentally opened since its-shaft 35 must be forced axially-inwardly to release the pins 9Ia -from the apertures 92a before the valve can bei turned.

It desired, the plate 89a may also be provided lwith protuberances to indicatepositlons of the valve other than the closed position. `Also, the

protuberances may lock the'valve in on" position .if desired.

The shoulder 82 of each valve knob 2| has suflcient inwardmovement with respect to plate I9 topermit the corresponding valve stem to be` moved inwardly and thereby release the projections 9I or pins 9Ia from vthe apertures 92.

Asshown in Figures 7 and 8, a port I 05 ls provided in the` rear wall of the manifold I1, this port communicating-with the central chamber 26- readily removed from the Stove, removal of the plate also withdrawing the knobs or handles 2| from the ends of the valve-stems or shafts 32 and 35.

When the front plate I9 is removed, the pasition of the segmental plates 91 which determine the range of opening movement of the top burner valves 3|) may be adjusted by loosening the screws- 99. Also, since the Venturi tubes leading to the top burners are centered upon the sleeves 45 extending from the extension o r offset portions 44 of themanifold, the needle valves 41 controlling' `the ow of gas to the Venturi tubes will also be accessible for adjustment merely by removal of .Y the cover plate I9. Furthermore, the air supply to the Venturi tubes can be adjusted with the cover plate' I9 removed since the screws 49a which secure the usual movable plates upon thev air inlets of the Venturi tubes 22 will be accessible through the aperture I6.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details .of construction shown in the drawings and described 'in the specification and that the examples of the use of the various forms of the device which have been given do not include all of the uses ofwhich the device is -of the stove by flat springs 20, this plate may be capable; also, that the phraseology employed in the speciiication is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

We claimr- 4 1. A valve structure comprising a valve body element, a plate-like stationary element spaced from said valvebody element, a rotatable valve element between said elements` and seated .with respect to said valve body element, a shaft carrying said valve element and rotatable with respect to said valve -body element and Vstationary element, said valve and valve body elements having ow passagesv thereinadapted .to be valigned by rotation of said valve element, means on said shaft to cooperate with said stationary element to hold said shaft and valve element in predetermined position, and resilientI means between said stationary element and valve element to tend to hold said last named means and said stationary element` interengaged and to hold said valve element seated with respect to said valve body element. i

2. A valve structure comprising a valve bod element, a plate carried by and spaced from said valve body element, a dise valve'element rotatable with respect to said valve body element and positioned between said rst named elements, a shaft carrying said valve element journalled in said valve body element and said plate, said plate having an arcuate slot therein, a member carried by said shaft including a tang movable in said slot to limit the movement of said valve element, and resilient means on said shaft between said valve element and said tanged member to hold said valve element seated and said member engaged with said plate.

3. A valve structure comprising a valve body element, a plate carried by and spaced from said valve body element, a disc valve element rotatable with respect'to said valve body element and positioned between said rst named elements, a shaft carrying said valve elementjournalled in said valve body element and said plate, said plate having an arcuate slot therein, a member carried by said shaft including a tang movable in said slot to limit the movement of said valve element, means on said member engaging said plate to tend to hold said valve in a predetermined position and resilient means on said shaft between said valve element and said last named means to hold said valve element seated and to hold said last named means in contact with said plate.

4. A valve structure comprising a valve body member provided with a plurality of planar valve seats, a fluid supply chamber within said body member communicating with each of the valve seats, a plurality of disc valve elements respectively rotatable upon said valve seats, delivery passages within said valve body respectively communicating with each of the valve seats, said valve elements being provided with passages adapted to be aligned for flow of fluid therethrough upon rotation thereof, said valve body element including extensions respectively associated with each valve seat and through which a supply passage extends, said extensions being adapted to support the inlet end of Venturi tubes.

5. A valve structure comprising a valve body element, a plate-like element secured to and spacedfrom said valve body element, a valve element positioned between said first named elements and seated with respect to said valve body element, a shaft carrying said valve element and rotatable with respect to said valve body and said plate-like elements, said plate-like element being provided with an arcuate slot, a member carried by said shaft and extending into said slot, a member carried by said plate-like element and rotatable with respect to the latter to overlievthe slot and adjust its length.

6. A valve structure comprisingv a valve body element, a plate-like element secured to and shaft in a predetermined position, and resilient means between said member and said valve element to hold the valve element seated and to hold the cooperating means in contact.

7. A valve structure comprising a valve body element, a plate-like element secured to and spaced from said valve body element, a valve element positioned between said first named elements and seated with respect to said valve body element, a shaft carrying said valve element and extendingthrough said plate-like element, said plate-like element having an arcuate slot therein, means moving with said valve element and engaging the slot to limit the movement thereof, and a plate associated with said plate-like element and centered on said valve shaft to move about the latter and opposite the slot to adjust the length of the latter.

8. A valve structure comprising a valve body element, a plate-like element secured to and spaced from said valve body element, a valve element between said first named elements and seated with respect to said valve body element, a shaft carrying said valve element and rotatable and axially movable with respect to said valve body element and said plate-like element, said plate-like element having a depression therein, a member movable with said shaft provided with means to engage said depression to thereby look the shaft against rotation, a spring between said valve element and said member to hold said valve element seated and said member in contact with said plate-like element and permitting axial movement of said shaft and said member to release said locking means. -V

9. A valve structure comprising a valve body, Va plate-like element secured to and spaced from said valve body, a valve `element positioned between said flrst named elements and seated with respect to 'said valve body, a shaft carrying said valve element and rotatable and axially movable with respect to said valve body and plate-like element, said plate-like element having depresplate-like element having an arcuate aperturetherein, and means carried by said plate-like element overlying the aperture and movable to limit the rotational movement of said shaft and valve element.

BEST PRATI.

GEORGE F. WEINREICH. 

